Skills
You character in Newlife has a set of skills, which usually vary between 0 and 100. However, characters who are especially unsuited to a particular skill may start with a negative value and have a lower maximum limit. Charm Charm affects how good you are at dealing with people, and is vital for the sales profession where a high charm skill means bigger pay packets. Selecting the sales or customer service background during character generation will increase your charm skill, as will having the outgoing and flirty traits. Working in a job that uses charm will also increase your skill every week. Childcare A high childcare skill makes it easier for you to take care of any kids you might have. The childcare background and maternal trait increase your starting value. If you get pregnant you can train this skill by taking prenatal classes. Dance The dance skill affects your skill on the dancefloor, both in nightclubs and more formal dancing. You can learn to dance by taking evening classes, although these do have an entry fee. Training this skill gives you more options when dancing, and can win you prizes in the occasional dance competitions. Fashion The fashion skill is increased by studying fashion at home during your free time in the evenings, or by attending a local fashion show at the weekend. Studying is free, but fashion shows charge an entrance fee. Raising your fashion skill makes a wider variety of clothing available at better prices, and also increases the attractiveness modifiers of your outfits. This includes the cuteness/naughtiness and elegance/casualness ratings. As well as finding a larger selection of clothes when you go shopping, there are some designer clothes that are only available to girls who know about fashion. Selecting fashion as a previous career in the character builder will start you with a higher skill level. Femininity Femininity determines how good you are at general "girly" things, as well as how used you are to being a woman. There's a plethora of little things that someone raised as a girl will have picked up, but you might need to take time to learn. Things like walking in heels, not sitting with your legs open when you wear a skirt or wearing suitable makeup without looking like the Joker. High femininity skill increases your attractiveness, and will often have an effect on scenes. Beware though, if you want to turn back into a man then it might not be wise to get too comfortable with being female. Choosing the female start will give you a high femininity immediately at the start of the game - being in a woman's body is hardly new to you! For gender-swapped men, the feminine trait gives you a large boost to your starting skill, but unfeminine reduces both starting and maximum levels. You can also improve the skill by taking time to explore your body, and it will increase over time as you do things associated with being a woman, such as sleeping with men, or having babies. Fitness A recently added skill, fitness only has a few game effects. It helps a little if you get into fights, and it's the key skill for escaping from dastardly criminals. You can train fitness by going to the gym. Your starting and maximum fitness levels are affected by your body type, and your starting skill is also increased if you have a background in fitness training or the military.